Pavement - Spit On A Stranger [EP]

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Music reviews of Spit On A Stranger [EP]

Music Review: Show me a word that rhymes with Pavement
Rating: 3 Stars

But the four bonus tracks are why you really bought it. And two are wonderful: "Harness Your Hopes" is a laugh-a-line rocker with some of S.M.'s funniest stream-of-consciousness lyrics, including the priceless couplet: "Show me a word that rhymes with Pavement/And I won't kill your parents/And roast them on a spit." Then there's "Roll With The Wind," which is about as close to boogie as Pavement will ever (I hope) get--but it's great nonetheless. This song is proof that Malkmus is willfully obscure on purpose and could be a big star if he wanted to...no "classic rocker" on earth would find this catchy, guitar-solo rich rocker objectionable. He or she would be digging the music too much to even catch the quirky lyrics. Interestingly, these two songs are *not* outtakes from the new album, but actually date back to the "Brighten the Corners" sessions in 1996.

The last two tracks are less thrilling (the title "The Porpoise and the Hand Grenade" is the best thing about that song); both sound like demos, and may in fact be S.M. solo rather than the whole group--the acoustic guitars, cutesy keyboard sounds, and light drums don't sound much like Pavement. It would be interesting to hear them performed by the group live, but otherwise they're just minor tracks.

Not an absolute must-have, but fans should pick up this extended single.

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